It is 50 years ago today since the iconic Nelson's Pillar was blown up in Dublin.
The landmark commemorated the victory of Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, and was erected over 30 years before Nelson's Column in London.
No one was ever convicted of the bombing in the early hours of March 8th, 1966.
Traffic on O'Connell Street, Dublin, showing Nelson's Pillar in 1961 | Image: Robert Rider-Rider / AP/Press Association Images
Within a week, the remains of the structure were removed by the army in a further, controlled explosion - which caused more damage than the original bomb to shop windows along the street.
The Irish Times reports that the destruction of the landmark was carried out by members of a makeshift gang of socialist republicans - supposedly using gelignite stolen from a building company, along with ammonal left over from the IRA's 1950s Border campaign.
The remains of Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street in Dublin in 1966 | Image: PA / PA Archive/Press Association Images
'Operation Humpty Dumpty' was intended to remove the most obvious remaining symbol of British rule from the capital in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising.
Hugh Linehan of the Irish Times says the event even had its own theme tune - and that a republican splinter group is thought to have carried out the attack.
